MRS. BUSH: Thank you very much, Ambassador. Thank you for hosting us
here today for this very important announcement. Thank you also, Mr.
Minister, for joining us today, Mr. Jabr. I also want to recognize the
Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Anne Radice,
that's here. Thank you very much for also joining us, Anne.

Americans have become well-versed in Iraq's recent history. Yet many of us
may not realize that the people of today's Iraq are the guardians of 10,000
years of history -- tablets etched with the earliest samples of human
writing, musical instruments from the kingdom of Sumer, statues from the
time of King Nebuchadnezzar. All of these ancient objects belong to the
"Cradle of Civilization" -- a land we now call "Iraq."

Iraq's cultural heritage organizations were once the best in the Middle
East. But travel restrictions, diminished resources, and violence under
Saddam Hussein's regime made it impossible for them to sustain this
excellence.

Since the overthrow of Saddam's regime, the United States has worked to
help the people of Iraq rebuild your cultural institutions. The State
Department has already invested more than $3 million in these efforts.
It's helped to bring Iraqis to the United States for intensive professional
training. It's helped to build partnerships between American and Iraqi
museums, and support extensive infrastructure repairs to the Iraq National
Museum.

Recent security gains and increased stability have set the stage now for a
more vigorous effort to promote Iraq's cultural history. Today, I'm
pleased to announce the launch of the Iraq Cultural Heritage Project. This
project will build the capacity of Iraq's museums and other cultural
institutions to overcome the decades of conflict and isolation. It will
draw on the expertise of the U.S. National Park Service and private
cultural institutions in the United States.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is funding the Iraq Cultural Heritage Project
with a grant of nearly $13 million. An additional million dollars will be
provided by the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs. And Iraqi officials are requesting increased funding from their
own government for preservation efforts that will complement the Project's
goals.

Representatives from the United States Department of State worked closely
with the Iraqi government to identify three principal initiatives that will
be implemented with this first new funding.

First, a new conservation and historic preservation institute will be
established in Erbil. This institute will train new professionals to
preserve Iraq's historic treasures and to protect more than 12,000
registered archaeological sites in Iraq.

Second, a two-year professional development program will be set up at
Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with the
Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. This program will bring
Iraqi professionals to study in the United States, where they'll learn the
new methods of preservation that they were largely isolated from during
Saddam Hussein's regime.

Finally, the Project will continue improvements to the Iraq National Museum
-- which is home to one of the world's finest collections of Mesopotamian
antiques. This institution has endured frequent closures during times of
war and social unrest. Its doors were permanently sealed in 2006. The
Iraq Cultural Heritage Project will hasten the day when the Museum reopens
its collections to all Iraqis -- as well as to scholars and visitors from
around the world.

Americans understand the importance of preserving cultural heritage -- as
evidenced by our many museums, our National Park sites, and our initiatives
like the National Register of Historic Places. Preservation efforts are
even more important in a country like Iraq, where many citizens cannot
remember a time when their nation was free from conflict.

The Iraq Cultural Heritage Project will promote national unity by
highlighting the rich heritage that all Iraqis share. And the Project will
benefit all humanity by preserving the great historic sites, archaeological
wonders, and cultural objects that tell the story of the world's earliest
communities. The United States is proud to partner with Iraq as it
rebuilds its capacity to safeguard its birthplace of human civilization.